Timothy Piazza: Penn State frat members spent nearly $1,200 on alcohol the night before student’s death

Frat members associated with the death of Penn State student, Timothy Piazza, spent close to $1,200 on alcohol the night before Piazza died, according to testimony given on Tuesday from a detective working the case.

Detective David Scicchitano told a grand jury that student Craig Heimer purchased $1,179.30 worth of alcohol for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity on February 2, just hours before Piazza fell down a flight of stairs after a night of drinking. Heimer reportedly bought “numerous cases of Crown Rouse vodka and Natural Light Beer, 15 cases of Four Loko and multiple boxes of wine.”

According to prosecutors, Piazza consumed a lot of alcohol on the night that he died. He fell around 15 feet, which caused an injury that ultimately led to his death. Authorities said that other frat members, who also drank heavily that night, let Piazza lay unconcious for nearly 12 hours before calling for medical help.

On Monday, one of the fraternity brothers, Kordel Davis, told Good Morning America (GMA) that when he tried to assist Piazza, he was thrown against a wall and told to be quiet.

“I said he needs to be at the hospital right now. I said we should call 911. Get him in an ambulance and I’m screaming, I’m being very obvious with my thoughts and, you know, it was kind of like, shut up. ‘I got thrown against the wall. I didn’t know what to do after that. I felt kind of useless and I felt like I had no say in the situation after that.”

Davis said that most people were saying that Piazza simply needed to “sleep it off.” Piazza, who was a pledge, was allegedly made to chug alcohol while running through a gantlet of drinking stations.

Heimer, along with numerous other frat members, are facing charges related to Piazza’s death. Two of the frat members, Brendan Young and Daniel Casey, are facing 200 counts. Heimer was one of two people at the party old enough to purchase alcohol. According to court documents, he went out twice that night to pick up more drinks.

On March 30, Penn State permanently banned Beta Theta Pi. The fraternity was accused of displaying a “persistent pattern” of excessive drinking, hazing, and illegal drug use.